Verizon's FiOS TV Approved in Freeport, N.Y.

Verizon's FiOS TV Approved in Freeport, N.Y.

FiOS TV Will Transform the Market for Cable Competition, Choice and Value

FREEPORT, N.Y., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents of this Long Island village are a major step closer to having a new choice for their cable television services, thanks to a vote Monday night (Nov. 13) by the Village Board of Trustees to award a video franchise to Verizon for its FiOS TV service.

Freeport is the 13th Long Island community -- and the 21st in the state -- to grant Verizon a cable franchise, following Massapequa Park, Cedarhurst, Laurel Hollow, Lynbrook, Mineola, East Rockaway, Farmingdale, Valley Stream, and the towns of Huntington, Smithtown, Hempstead and Oyster Bay. Verizon also has been granted cable franchises by the Rockland County communities of Nyack, South Nyack, Upper Nyack, Grandview-on-Hudson and Clarkstown, along with the Town of Greenburgh and the villages of Irvington and Ardsley in Westchester County.

Freeport joins this growing list of New York communities that are paving the way for competition and choice in the television market. As with all local franchise approvals in New York, the agreement between Freeport and Verizon is subject to review by the New York State Public Service Commission.

"This is great news for the residents of Freeport, who now have more choice for their video entertainment," said Monica Azare, Verizon senior vice president for New York and Connecticut. "Choice and competition drives innovation, value and service quality, and we will continue to compete for New York consumers' communications, broadband and video business with our FiOS services.

"We look forward to similarly successful negotiations with other towns and villages throughout the state," said Azare.

Verizon, which launched FiOS TV in September 2005 in Keller, Texas, currently offers the service in parts of California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Virginia. The company has video franchises covering approximately 3.6 million households in nine states and more than 200 franchise areas. As the fiber network is fully deployed in franchise areas, Verizon will provide consumers with the opportunity to choose FiOS TV.

Verizon's FiOS TV service is designed to be a formidable competitor to cable and satellite, offering a broad collection of all-digital programming, more than 20 high-definition channels, video on demand and more. It is delivered over Verizon's fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network, which has industry-leading quality and reliability. Verizon is the first company to offer such a communications network, connecting homes and businesses directly to fiber optics on a widespread scale. Only Verizon's FTTP network has earned the certification of the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way to customers' homes and businesses.

Verizon's fiber network delivers amazingly sharp pictures and sound, and has the capacity to transmit a wide array of high-definition programming that is so clear and intense it seems to leap from the TV screen. In addition to FiOS TV, Verizon's fiber network also allows the company to offer consumers and businesses high-speed FiOS Internet service at download speeds of up to 50 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds of up to 10 Mbps.* FiOS Internet Service is currently available in many New York communities.

* NOTE: actual (throughput) speeds will vary.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), a Dow 30 company, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving nearly 57 million customers nationwide. Verizon Business operates one of the most expansive wholly-owned global IP networks. Verizon Telecom is deploying the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers. Based in New York, Verizon has a diverse workforce of approximately 250,000 and generates annual consolidated operating revenues of approximately $90 billion. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com/.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at http://www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

Source: Verizon

CONTACT: Heather Wilner, +1-212-321-8333, heather.b.wilner@verizon.com

Web site: http://www.verizon.com/
http://www.verizon.com/news

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